Hi everyone, any of you, who enjoy pipe smoking, ever encountered some problems for example a newly bought pipe does not smoke with a pleasant flavor and a not very comfortable feeling in the throat? Or a cake and grime coming up in the bowl of a pipe that you have not used for ages? Ok, guys, today I will give some helpful tips on how to care for and renovate vintage briar pipes.
In this blog, I will explain in detail how to condition a vintage briar pipe. If you find my experience useful, please share your own pipe care tips in the comments!
How do you clean a briar pipe before conditioning it?
I generally prefer to use spirit to clean new tobacco pipes. Take a mild cloth, soak it in alcohol, and then wipe the external surface as well as the smoke chamber and vents of your pipe gently. You shouldn’t overly immerse this pipe because this will destroy its structure too much. It’s also good to wash it many times until you cannot see any marks anymore before wiping it with a soft cloth. When a tar smell on a pipe continues, just increase the cleaning time slightly or add some more concentrated solution.
Once those stubborn stains have been eradicated, one should flush away the remaining alcohol on the inside of his/her pipe.
Now mop off extra moisture from your tube using either a soft cloth or towel for pipes only. In addition, give it several taps on the side so as to shake drops that have stuck inside loose. The drier the better at this stage – we need our briar nice and dry before the next step.For specific cleaning steps, you can check out our beginner’s guide on how to clean a pipe, which will definitely help you
How to restore the shine on the briar pipe?
Next, we need to start restoring the shine on our old pipes. I generally don’t like to give my pipes too much shine, so I smooth them out naturally with extra fine sandpaper. Fine grit gently cleanses old dirt and oil from the pipe surface, leaving a polished silky texture. It is simple; just tear off a piece of 2500 and 5000-grit sandpapers, dip in olive oil, and polish the pipe using light pressure. Make sure to clean between changing to higher grits.
If you are like me and don’t want to buy an expensive power buffer, there are also natural wax products such as Briar Pipe Wipe that could be taken into account. Made mainly of carnauba wax, this is sprayed evenly on a microfiber cloth, allowed to dry then maintained over time to maintain the pipe surface. This easy-to-use budget-friendly wax will easily bring your pipe back to a shiny new finish.
And for basic upkeep, you could even use olive oil and an old sock to buff (though it won’t be very effective for very old worn pipes). In addition to this, I also need to apply some honey to the pipe. OK, I know what you are thinking, what does applying honey do to the pipe?
What is the purpose of coating the bowl with honey?
Man, you haven’t even tried rubbing your pipe with honey to know that Honey is a humectant that helps the wood of the pipe keep adequate moisture content thereby preventing it from cracking. Meanwhile, while you are smoking, honey will suck in and hold oils and tars in fumes on the walls of the pipe so as to create a shielding coat.
Additionally, over time honey allows oily tar substances from smoke to penetrate into the wood of the pipe, creating a buildup that coats and protects its interior. It thus acts as an armor for briar.
In breaking in a new pipe, a little honey spread on it is helpful. Among other things, this saves softwood from direct contact with strong smoke hence avoiding early spoiling. In addition to this fact, fresh pipes may be given an extra touch by their sweet smell which goes together with mellifluous flavor imparted by the inherent sweetness of honey, especially during initial bowls. Furthermore, during the break-in period, honey has natural antiseptic properties which ensure cleanness and hygiene inside the tube during that period
How often should I recondition the briar wood on a pipe?
That’s it on reconditioning pipes; but have you wondered how often, for instance, should we recondition a pipe? I used to be confused by this question until I met my long-time friend Jack who is a fellow pipe enthusiast and he gave me the answer.
He was plain that this would largely depend on how often I smoke. For my everyday pipes, one time in a month is perfect. This helps maintain the briar in good condition by preventing it from drying. Once every 2-3 months will do for weekly pipes.
When you have completed all the steps, your briar will sparkle like crystal, feel, and look great, and now you can add it to your pipe collection.
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